The assassin was brought up bound hand and foot, kneeling on the ground trembling.
Lin Muheng and Jiang He stood solemnly to the side, their faces full of reverence.
Someone actually dared to assassinate someone in the palace; that's incredibly audacious.
However, the two of them made a great contribution to the successful capture of the assassin.
Meanwhile, Lin Mushen, who was not far away, gritted his teeth in anger and cursed inwardly: Why are it these two again? They always ruin my plans and oppose me at every turn. They are simply stumbling blocks on my path to progress!
At this moment, Lin Mushen stared fiercely at the assassin, his eyes flashing with a cold, sinister light.
However, this scene was witnessed by Emperor Rongsheng, who had been observing everyone. His face darkened, and he suddenly roared, "Lin Mushen, kneel before me!"
The sudden rebuke stunned Lin Mushen, who was momentarily unable to react.
Seeing this, the eunuch Wang beside him quickly whispered a reminder: "Your Highness! Your Highness! Kneel down quickly!"
Hearing Eunuch Wang's call, Lin Mushen snapped out of his daze, knelt down with a thud, and said tremblingly, "Father! Your son is here!"
Emperor Rongsheng's eyes widened in fury as he pointed at Lin Mushen and roared, "How dare you! You actually collude with assassins to plot against us! Guards, arrest him for me!"
Before he finished speaking, Jiang He and a group of well-trained guards quickly stepped forward and forcefully twisted Lin Mushen's arms backward.
"Father, I'm innocent!" Lin Mushen was terrified, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
His mind raced as he tried to recall what had happened, trying to figure out which link had gone wrong so that the emperor had seen through his deception on the spot.
But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't come up with a solution.
Emperor Rongsheng's face was gloomy, and his cold gaze was fixed on Lin Mushen kneeling below. He said in an icy voice, "Hmph, you tell me properly, where exactly have I wronged you? Could it be that this audacious assassin who sneaked into the palace to assassinate me was not secretly arranged by you?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Mushen was startled, but he still tried to remain calm and shouted that he was innocent: "Father! How can you slander your son like this? Your son knows nothing about this so-called assassin! Your son is truly innocent!"
However, he secretly wondered to himself, "I have always been careful and meticulous in my actions, how could I have been discovered so easily?"
At that moment, Consort Zheng, who was standing nearby, also hurriedly knelt down and pleaded in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, please calm down! This matter has absolutely nothing to do with Shen'er. Please, Your Majesty, investigate this matter thoroughly!"
Emperor Rongsheng turned to look at Consort Zheng, and snorted coldly, "Oh? So, according to you, this matter is actually related to you?"
Upon hearing this, Consort Zheng's face turned deathly pale. She hurriedly shook her head and denied it, saying, "No, no, Your Majesty, I know absolutely nothing about this matter!"
She inwardly groaned, never expecting things to develop to this point.
Emperor Rongsheng suddenly raised his voice and asked sternly, "Since you don't know about the assassin, do you know about my poisoning?"
These words were like a thunderclap in the palace. Not only was Consort Zheng trembling with fright, but everyone present was also astonished and began to whisper among themselves.
No one expected that the emperor, who was high above all others, would be poisoned!
Faced with Emperor Rongsheng's questioning, Consort Zheng gritted her teeth and refused to admit anything, saying, "Your Majesty, I really don't know anything about poisoning!"
A flash of anger crossed Emperor Rongsheng's eyes. He waved his hand and shouted, "Guards, bring him up here!" As soon as his order was given, footsteps were heard outside the hall. Several guards escorted a flustered eunuch into the hall.
The eunuch suddenly knelt down, trembling all over, and cried out in a voice choked with sobs, "Your Majesty! This servant is truly innocent! I beg Your Majesty to investigate!"
At this moment, he raised his head in alarm, and his gaze fell on Consort Zheng, who was kneeling not far away.
Instantly, his heart sank to the bottom, and a wave of despair washed over him, for he knew that he was probably doomed this time.
When he nervously met Lin Mushen's cold, sinister eyes again, which seemed to pierce through people's hearts, he was struck dumb, and hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look at him again.
At this moment, he was filled with fear and inner turmoil, because he knew that if he revealed the mastermind behind it all—Prince Jin—the Prince Jin would certainly not let his family off easily, given his ruthlessness and cunning.
Thinking of this, he bit his lip tightly, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his body trembled involuntarily.
Neither of them escaped Emperor Rongsheng's notice of their subtle misunderstandings.
"You won't admit it! I see you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."
Just as the stalemate was at hand, the Duke of Zheng, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke up: "Your Majesty, there are many suspicious points in this matter. Do not let the villains blind you. Although this eunuch seems guilty, he may have been framed. As for Consort Zheng, Your Majesty has known her for many years and knows her character well. She would not do such a treasonous thing."
Emperor Rongsheng frowned slightly: "Duke Zheng defended him, does he know the inside story?"
Upon hearing the Empress's words, the eunuch grasped at a straw and hurriedly kowtowed, crying out, "Duke, save me! This servant has indeed been framed!"
Emperor Rongsheng's gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally settling on Consort Zheng: "In your opinion, if it wasn't Consort Zheng who did it, then who was it?"
Duke Zheng said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is to thoroughly investigate the mastermind behind this, rather than hastily convicting him."
Perhaps someone is deliberately stirring up trouble, trying to disrupt the inner palace and thus threaten the stability of the court.
Emperor Rongsheng coldly laughed, "Assassins have already tried to assassinate me in the palace, do you think I'm going to let them go?"
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